Good News
Principal Bill Walsh from Hinsdale Central introduced student liaison Christine Leung, who provided information from her board report. This report included:
- Highlights from homecoming.
- Recognition of Central for being named a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School.
- Recognition of the individuals who were named Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Program.
- Details about the spooky spirit week being hosted by Student Council and the field trip to the Technology Center of DuPage on Nov. 10.
- Recent accomplishments by several teams, including boys and girls golf, boys and girls cross country, girls swimming and diving, poms, cheerleading, boys soccer and girls tennis.
- Recent events and activities that were organized by some of the school's student clubs and organizations.
Leung also shared feedback about homecoming and the changes to the district's grading practices. You can access her report by visiting
https://bit.ly/2YJwo27.
Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp from Hinsdale South introduced student liaison Jennifer Pantoni, who provided information from her board report. This report included:
- Details about the events that were held to honor and recognize the school's National Merit Scholars and Hornet Scholars.
- A recap of the events and activities that were held during homecoming week.
- Highlights from the homecoming dance.
- Details about the school's first two South Pride lessons of the year.
- A recap of the events and activities that were organized to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
- Recent accomplishments by the boys and girls golf teams, boys soccer team, girls tennis team and girls volleyball team.
- Recognition of the Hornets for Wounded Warriors, which is a student organization that raised $1,900 for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Update on Goal 1 of the Strategic Plan - Program Alignment
The administration and department chairs for English, social studies, world languages, career and technology education, physical education/health/driver education and fine arts provided the board with an update on the work the program teams for those departments have been doing to advance Goal 1 (Student Growth and Achievement) of the district's strategic plan. Below is the information that was included in that update.
- High priority strategies and equity goals associated with Goal 1 of the strategic plan.
- Structure that is being used to support the curriculum alignment process.
- Guiding principles of the curriculum alignment process.
- Common elements in the curriculum alignment work.
- Logically sequenced coursework.
- Common courses - common collaboration.
- Maintaining or increasing pathways to acceleration by eliminating barriers.
- Maintaining/enhancing honors/dual credit/AP opportunities.
- Relevant, future-focused course options.
- Creating exploratory options.
- Maintaining or enhancing content.
- The process and communication norms used by the program teams.
- Feedback provided by the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC).
- Pilot of earned honors credit.
- Working definition - students who choose to remain in a regular section of a course will be provided with opportunities to demonstrate honors level sophistication or engagement with the content/subject; could take the form of differentiated work, student choice in materials, proof of increased sophistication, etc.
- Those who take advantage of honors opportunities could be awarded honors credit for the course dependent on their performance.
- Version of earned honors currently exists in some of the district's music and career and technology education (CTE) electives.
- Pilot would take place during the 2022-23 school year and focus on four classes - two new English electives, a CTE course and a course in fine arts.
- Earned honors credit will not: change the expected outcomes for the regular course; replace or eliminate honors or AP courses; mix honors and regular level classes; or cause a course to be stacked.
- Current course offerings.
- No changes for freshmen or sophomores.
- Juniors and seniors will select at least 2.0 credits and have the option/opportunity to earn honors credit in a variety of courses.
- Research and outreach that was conducted.
- Summary of recommended changes.
- Continue current honors and AP options; keep classic core courses.
- Offer new courses that are open to junior and seniors and provide the opportunity to earn honors credit. Proposed new courses include: True Stories: Creative Nonfiction; Psychology and Literature; Themes in Lit: Women’s Literature; Themes in Lit: Asian-American Literature; Literature of Science, Technology and the Individual; Literature of Sports and American Culture; War: Memory and Literature; and Themes In Lit: Latino-American Literature.
- Proposed course offerings for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
- Data that was reviewed and research that was conducted.
- Information about the Seal of Biliteracy.
- Summary of recommended changes.
- Replace Spanish V Honors at both buildings with a new course titled Honors Spanish Conversation and Culture.
- Change the Spanish sequence at Hinsdale South so that it mirrors Hinsdale Central’s pathway; will give students greater access to upper level options.
- Align the sequences for all languages so there is an AP option as a capstone course.
- Add Latin III/IV Caesar/Vergil and Latin III/IV: Latin Literature as alternating yearly offerings at Hinsdale South.
- Expand dual credit with the College of DuPage for Spanish, French and German and with Loyola University for Latin.
- Proposed course offerings for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
- Summary of recommended changes.
- Introduce a new AP opportunity (AP Modern World History).
- Add new elective courses: Criminal Law; American Diversity - Identity and Experiences; Chicago History; Economics: Investment and the Modern Economy; Global Connections; and Social Studies Seminar.
- Proposed sequence and pathways for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
- Visual arts courses that will be available at different levels (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Advanced Placement).
- Proposed course sequences for orchestra, choir and band.
- Proposed merger of courses to create a Modern Music Exploration course and an Animation & Video Art 1 course; no prerequisite; open to students in grades 9-12.
- Definition of what CTE is and what it encompasses.
- Proposed pathways for technology education, business education, and family and consumer sciences.
- Summary of recommended changes.
- Business education - consolidate full-year Marketing course into semester-long Marketing and Sports Marketing course; continue working with the College of DuPage to increase dual credit opportunities.
- Family and consumer sciences - consolidate Senior Foods curriculum to align with Culinary 1.
- Technology education - continue dual credit with Moraine Valley Community College; continue to work with the College of DuPage to increase dual credit opportunities; streamline the Graphic Communication pathways based on student feedback.
- Proposed sequence for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
- The program of studies for the 2022-23 school year will reflect the recommendations of the program teams.
- The board will conduct a first reading of the program of studies on Oct. 28; will conduct a second reading and vote to adopt the program of studies on Nov. 18.
- Curriculum development and writing teams will use the rest of the 2021-22 school year and summer of 2022 to finalize new courses and course revisions; recommended trajectory is based on a measured rollout of aligned courses through the 2024-25 school year.
- The program of studies will feature the revised alignment trajectory for each department.
Update on the District 86 Science Program
The administration and department chairs for science gave a presentation that covered several topics, including: rigor; the role of earth and space science in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); the accountability for the state's learning standards; what physics, chemistry and biology look like in District 86; and potential changes to the district's science program. Below is the information that was shared for each topic.
- Different ways people define it.
- Information from the College Board about why it is making changes to AP science courses, including AP Biology.
- Information from the College Board about how an emphasis on science practices benefits students.
- Information about Illinois' science learning standards, which went into effect in 2014 and are based on NGSS
- Impact NGSS has on what a classroom looks like.
- Information about what NGSS is designed to do.
- Promote in-depth understanding of a focused set of core concepts and interdisciplinary ideas.
- Reflect the interconnected nature of science as it is practiced and experienced in the real world.
- Build science concepts and practices coherently in K–12.
- Focus on the deeper understanding and application of content.
- Align with the “College Board Standards for College Success,” which define the content and skills needed to be college- and career-ready, including making the transition into AP courses.
- Content area domains of NGSS - physical science, life science, and earth and space sciences.
- Information from Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Northwestern University, about the role and importance of earth and space science in NGSS.
- Integration of earth and space science standards into the district's standards for physics, chemistry and biology.
- Examples of the earth and space science standards in the core courses.
- Overview of the earth and space science standards in physics, chemistry and biology.
- Implications on the Illinois Report Card.
- Information about the updated Illinois Science Assessment.
- Implications on the Illinois School Designation.
- Earth and space science concepts that are covered in physics, chemistry and biology.
- Comparison showing how changes to the district's science program emphasize in-depth understanding.
- Comparison showing the difference in objectives for physics when there is an emphasis on NGSS.
- Breakdown of the frequency of hands-on activities, labs, simulations and projects that occur during a typical 10-day unit in AP Physics 1, AP Physics C, Physics (juniors and seniors), Physics (freshmen) and Physics Honors (freshmen).
- Program sequence/pathways implemented in the fall of 2020.
- Program sequences/pathways that reflect the direction the board provided in the summer of 2021.
- Updated list of individuals serving on the district's program team for science.
- Proposed sequences/pathways that reflect the board's direction and the work of the program team.
- Physics-Chemistry- Biology or Biology-Chemistry-Physics sequences/pathways available for freshman- and junior-level courses (single grade only; no mixing grade levels) that include earth science standards where appropriate.
- AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics C-M, AP Physics C, Anatomy & Physiology, Earth Science Capstone available for seniors (or concurrent with 11th grade).
- Considerations of a refined program.
- Benefits - provides experiences with all four core sciences in the first three years; places students in science courses with age-similar peers; allows choice for freshmen.
- Challenges - increases confusion for students and parents/guardians when it comes to choosing the pathway for high school; decreases vertical alignment in the second year of the program; increases the number of courses offered from 14 to 18, which will likely require hiring an additional 1-2 FTE at Hinsdale South in order to run sufficient sections with lower enrollments.
District 86 Grading Practices
The board continued its discussion about the
changes to the district's grading practices that were shared during its meeting on Sept. 30. During this discussion, the board talked about a variety of topics that included, but were not limited to, summative and formative ratios, communication of the changes, and the impact of the changes on students and teachers.
You can view the video of the conversation about grading by visiting
https://vimeo.com/633046560 (starts at the 4:06:45 mark and ends at the 4:55:05 mark).
Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as presented. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit https://bit.ly/3j477a9 to access the consent agenda items beginning under number eight.
Approve Use of Hinsdale Central's Name, Logo and Likeness
The board voted to provide the Community Memorial Foundation with permission to use Hinsdale Central's name, logo and likeness in internal and external marketing and communication materials that are related to the school’s participation in the foundation’s YC2 youth philanthropy program. This permission is granted through June 30, 2022, with the understanding that the board may revoke it at any time.
Approve Student Settlement Agreement #2021-001
The board approved student settlement agreement #2021-001.
Board President's Report
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss gave several shoutouts during her report. She recognized and thanked Jason Oskorep, the district's director of operations, for his efforts to address the various emergency/crisis situations at our buildings this week, including two separate power issues at Hinsdale Central, a power outage and fire alarm at Hinsdale South, and a power/water issue at the Transition Center's Burr Ridge location.
She recognized and thanked Katie DiCianni and the Transition Center staff, the administration and staff from Central, and the administration and staff from South for overcoming the challenges created by these situations to help ensure that the needs of our students continued to be met.
She also recognized Principal Walsh and Principal Pokorny Lyp in honor of National Principals Month, and thanked them for their hard work and dedicated service
Future Agenda Items
The board discussed possible agenda items for future meetings, including:
- The creation of a task force to identify solutions for addressing course conflicts. This topic will be added to the agenda for a future board meeting, but no specific date was set.
- A review of policy 6:40 (Curriculum Development). The board decided to send the policy to the Policy Committee for review.
- A discussion of the procedures and protocols that the district uses to process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This topic may be added to the agenda for the board meeting on Oct. 28. However, the timing will depend on when the board attorney is available to participate in the conversation.
